 | Songs of the sea, with other poems |  |
THE LIGHT OF THE LIGHTHOUSE.
I.
The closing of a day in June,Mild, beautiful, and bright!
The setting sun, the crescent moon,
Mingling their doubtful light!
The west wind brings the odor sweet
Of flowers and new-mown hay;
While murmuring billows at our feet
Breathe of the salt sea spray.
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II.
We stroll along the wide sea-beach,A ladye faire and I,
And con what Nature's page may teach
In ocean, earth, and sky.
And, as across the waters blue,
With roving glance we gaze,
A light springs suddenly to view—
It is a beacon's blaze!
III.
O, lambently the new-born flameDisparts the purple air;
In childlike wonder we exclaim,
To see a sight so fair.
“How bright,” the ladye saith, “its ray
Shoots o'er the tranquil tide!
Now listen to the tale, I pray,
With yonder shaft allied.
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IV.
“Upon that island's narrow ledgeOf rocks with sea-weed strown,
Fringed by the thinly-scattered sedge,
The lighthouse towers alone.
There, 'mid the sea's perpetual swell,
The dash of breakers wild,
Two solitary beings dwell—
A father and his child!
V.
“Three years ago, no friendly lightAcross the dark reef beamed;
A white flag on the rocky height,
The only signal, streamed.
Poor Francis Lorne had then a wife,
And he had children five;
He led a fisherman's bold life,
And merrily did he thrive.
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VI.
“It was on Independence Day,To Mary Lorne he said,
‘My sloop is rocking in the bay,
Our flag at her mast-head.
Come, gentle wife, your work throw down,
And, children, come with me;
And we'll all take a trip to town,
This day's great sights to see.
VII.
“‘On board! on board! Fair blows the gale;My boat is swift and strong;
With streamers gay and loosened sail,
How will she sweep along!
The sky is clear and beautiful,
Bright gleams the breezy morn;
We'll skim the blue waves like a gull!
We will!’ said Francis Lorne.
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VIII.
“O, joyful heart, exult not so!Mistrust that prospect fair;
It is the lure of death and woe,
The ambush of despair!
That night the storm, in wild array,
Clove through the billows dark,
And, in a cloud of foam and spray,
Rushed on the fated bark.
IX.
“The morning's dim, unconscious smile,That hushed the raging blast,
Disclosed upon that rock-bound isle
Two forms the surge had cast.
There, folded to the father's breast,
His youngest daughter lay;
They are but two—where be the rest?
Ye ruthless billows, say!
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X.
“Alas for him! From death-like sleep,When memory was recalled,
He could not groan—he could not weep—
His reason was appalled!
A grief, that blanched his sun-burnt face,
Thenceforth upon him grew—
A grief that time could not erase,
And hope could not subdue.
XI.
“And when, at length, on yonder spot,Was reared the lighthouse spire,
To him was given the lonely lot
To tend the beacon fire.
There, from the busy world apart,
Its clamor and its care,
He lives, with but one human heart
His solitude to share.
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XII.
“But O, Aurora's crimson light,That makes the watch-fire dim,
Is not a more transporting sight
Than Ellen is to him!
He pineth not for fields and brooks,
Wild-flowers and singing birds,
For Summer smileth in her looks,
And singeth in her words.
XIII.
“A fairy thing, not five years old,So full of joy and grace,
It is a rapture to behold
The beauty of her face!
And O, to hear her happy voice,
Her laughter ringing free,
Would make the gloomiest heart rejoice,
And turn despair to glee!
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XIV.
“The ocean's blue is in her eyes,Its coral in her lips;
And, in her cheek, the mingled dyes,
No sea-shell could eclipse!
And, as she climbs the weedy rocks,
And in the sunshine plays,
The wind that lifts her golden locks
Seems more to love their rays.
XV.
“When the smoothed ocean sleeps unstirred,And, like a silver band,
The molten waters circling gird
The island's rim of sand,
She runs her tiny feet to lave,
And breaks the liquid chain;
Then laughs to feel the shivered wave
Coil down to rest again.
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XVI.
“And, when the black squall rends the deep,The tempest-cradled maid,
To see the white gulls o'er her sweep,
Mounts to the balustrade:
Above her head and round about,
They stoop without alarm,
And seem to flout her threatening shout,
And her up-stretching arm.
XVII.
“Once, Francis sought the neighboring town,And she was left alone;
When such a furious storm came down
As never had been known.
‘My child!’ the wretched parent cried;
‘O friends, withhold me not!
The bravest man, in such a tide,
Would quail on that bleak spot.’
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XVIII.
“He strove, till faint and out of breath,His fragile boat to gain;
But all knew it was certain death
To tempt the hurricane:
And wilder grew the tempest's power,
And doubly black the night,
When, lo! at the appointed hour,
Blazed forth that beacon-light!
XIX.
“The sea-fog, like a fallen cloud,Rolled in and dimmed its fire;
Roared the gale louder and more loud,
And sprang the billows higher!
Above the gale that wailed and rang,—
Above the booming swell,
With steady and sonorous clang,
Pealed forth the lighthouse bell!
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XX.
“Warned by the sound, ships inward boundAgain the offing tried;
And soon the baffled Tempest found
His anger was defied:
The billows fell, the winds, rebuked,
Crept to their caverns back;
And placidly the day-star looked
Out from the cloudy rack.
XXI.
“Bright through the window-panes it smiledUpon the little bed,
Where, wrapped in slumber deep and mild,
Ellen reposed her head.
Her friends, her father seek the place;
Good saints have watched her charms!
Her blue eyes open on his face,
And she is in his arms!”
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XXII.
The voice was mute, the tale was told;Sacred be my reply!
Along the wide sea-beach we strolled,
That ladye faire and I.
Blessed, ever blessed and unforgot,
Be that sweet summer night!
And blessings on that wave-girt spot,
The lighthouse and the light!
| Songs of the sea, with other poems | |